Emerging from the Rashtrapati Bhavan [Images] after submitting the letter withdrawing support from the government, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat told media persons that the draft of the IAEA safeguards agreement must be made public.

On Pranab Mukherjee's claim that the draft of the IAEA safeguards agreement could not be made public, Karat said: "I want to know, who has declared the text confidential. Is it the government of India? They should learn a lesson or two from America. The Americans have negotiated with IAEA and the draft of the new agreement is available on the net. So how can they claim that this is a classified document?"

Claiming that the Manmohan Singh [Images] government had not been transparent on the nuclear deal, Karat said the deal will not be acceptable to the Left parties till all the issues raised by them were clarified.

The Left cannot be a party to the government, which fulfils commitment to US President George Bush [Images] and not to the people of India, Karat said, adding that the Left will continue to its fight against the 'notorious' nuclear deal

On queries whether Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will tender his resignation, Karat said it was up to the former to decide whether to demit office.